Spartacus: The Slave Revolt of 73–71 BC

In 73 BC some 200 gladiators in the Capuan school of Lentulus Batiatus plotted an escape. The plot leaked, but about 70 men still fought their way out of the school and seized wagons of gladiatorial weapons and armor. They chose three leaders: Spartacus and two Gallic slaves, Crixus and Oenomaus. Capua was known for the first and most famous gladiator school, and its huge amphitheatre in today's Santa Maria Capua Vetere is second in size only to the Colosseum. The school itself has not been located, so the pin marks the amphitheatre.

Location precision: The school's exact site is unknown; the pin marks the Roman amphitheatre of ancient Capua.

Visitor guidance: The amphitheatre is in Santa Maria Capua Vetere; check opening hours before you go.

The runaways retreated to Vesuvius, about 9 km east of Naples. The praetor Gaius Claudius Glaber arrived with 3,000 men and blocked the only known way down, expecting hunger to do the rest. Spartacus's men instead twisted ropes and ladders from vines growing on the slopes, climbed down the cliffs on the far side, circled the base of the mountain and annihilated the Roman force.

Location precision: Ancient accounts name the mountain, not the exact camp or the cliff the rebels descended.

Visitor guidance: Vesuvius sits in a national park above the Gulf of Naples.

Driven south, Spartacus made a bargain with Cilician pirates to carry some 2,000 men to Sicily and raise a new revolt there. The pirates took the payment and left. The rebels camped at Rhegium, today's Reggio Calabria, where Crassus built fortifications across the isthmus and cut off their supplies. At its narrowest the strait is only 3.1 km wide, but without ships the crossing was impossible.

Location precision: The pin marks Reggio Calabria; the sources do not say where on the coast the camp stood.

Visitor guidance: Reggio Calabria faces the strait; Sicily is visible across the water.

On the banks of the Sele, known in antiquity as the Silarus, Spartacus finally met the legions of Crassus in open battle. Before the fight he drew his sword and killed his own horse. In the midst of the battle he tried desperately to reach Crassus and killed two centurions on the way. Spartacus died in the fighting, but his body was never recovered.

Location precision: Sources name the river but not the field; the pin marks the Sele River.

Rome made an example of the survivors. In 71 BC, 6,000 captured slaves were crucified along the 200 km of the Via Appia from Rome to Capua, the road that led back to where the revolt began. The old road near Rome is now a free tourist attraction, and past the first busy 5 km its ruins can be explored on foot.

Location precision: The crucifixions lined the whole road; the pin marks the start of the Via Appia Antica near Rome.

Visitor guidance: Walk the Via Appia Antica south of Rome; traffic is light beyond the first 5 km.